Coconut oil has a high content of lauric acid, which has selective antibacterial activity. This study aimed to explore the effect of coconut oil ingestion on the gastrointestinal microbiomes of pigs. A 14-day-long feeding experiment included 19 pigs in two groups (9 on a normal diet and 10 on a diet supplemented with coconut oil). At the start and end of the experiment, a rectal swab sample was taken from each pig in both groups, and total bacterial DNA was extracted. We used 16S rRNA high-throughput amplicon sequencing to evaluate the microbiome changes during the feeding experiment. A total of 446 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected in the whole sample set. Shannon’s indices of bacterial diversity did not change significantly during the experiment. Changes in the bacterial community during the study period and in response to the coconut oil treatment were highly significant (p < 0.001). During the study, an increase in the abundance of Lactobacillus was detected in the group treated with coconut oil. An increase in Alloprevotella, Bifidobacteriales, and Lactobacillales and a decrease in Corynebacterium, Mitsuokella, Psychrobacter, and Pseudomonadales were attributed to the coconut oil treatment. Although the addition of coconut oil to pig feed did not affect Shannon’s index of diversity, it had a positive effect on the abundance of bacterial groups that are considered to be commensal and/or probiotic.

The aim of this study was to analyze the polymorphisms of the beta-casein gene and describe the association between the beta-casein genotypes and milk production in high milk-production Slovak Holstein cattle herds. Genomic DNA was isolated from the hair root samples of 1478 cows using a commercial column kit. The detection of the specific alleles A1 and A2 of the CSN2 gene was carried out using three molecular-genetics methods, including the TaqMan allelic discrimination assay, ACRS-PCR and SBE primer extension technology. The results of the molecular-genetic analysis were used for calculating the genetic structure in the analyzed population. All three genotypes, including A1A1 (5.28%), A1A2 (37.08%) and A2A2 (57.64%), were detected. The frequency of the allele A1 was 23.82% and the allele A2 was 76.18%. The statistical analysis and data preparation were performed using the SAS 9.2 Enterprise Guide 4.2 software. A general linear model (GLM) and the least squares means adjusted for multiple comparisons were used. A significant positive effect of the beta-casein genotype A2A2 on protein in kilograms and partially for the protein content in Holstein cows was found. Only the highest the least squares means for the fat percentage was found for the genotype A1A1 compared to the genotype A2A2. This can be considered a slightly negative trend.

The performance of ruminants is affected mainly by the rumen bacterial community. The composition and properties of the rumen bacterial community depend largely on the diet components that are fed to the ruminant. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of grape pomace intake on the rumen bacterial community of sheep. Four different diets, two of which contained dried grape pomace (DGP), were used in this study. Rumen fluid samples from 12 wethers were used for 16S rRNA gene sequencing and subsequent bacterial identification. At the phylum level, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes; at the family level, Prevotellaceae and Porphyromonadaeceae; and at the genera level, Prevotella and Verrucomicrobia_Subdivision5_genera_incertae_sedis were the most common regardless of the diet the animals were fed. After the addition of DGP to the diet, the relative abundance of Methanobrevibacter, Butytirivibrio, Fretibacterium, and Verrucomicrobia _Subdivision3 _genera_incertae_sedis significantly increased, whereas that of Succiniclasticum and Selenomonas significantly decreased. The upregulated pathway of methanogenesis from H₂ and CO₂ was supported by a significant increase in Methanobacteriaceae after the diet was supplemented with DGP. The rumen bacterial community diversity indices (Richness and Shannon) were significantly affected by diet composition as well as by the change of housing location. The addition of DGP into the wethers’ diet increased the richness of the rumen bacterial community, which is good for maintaining rumen bacterial homeostasis. No adverse effect of the addition of DPG on the rumen bacterial community was noted.

Milk is an important component of human nutrition, and its composition and milk yield fundamentally affect the economy of dairy farms. Genetic variability is a fundamental premise for livestock breeding and is commonly used in the identification of individual animals and in selection to improve performance. The aims of this study were to propose a rapid detection method for genes affecting the nutritional value and technological properties of bovine milk (FADS1, FADS2, FASN, SCD, DGAT1, CSN2 and CSN3) and to analyze Slovak Holstein cattle to widen knowledge on their genetic structure for these candidate genes. Genotyping was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and artificially created restriction site-polymerase chain reaction (ACRS-PCR) methods. Heterozygosity is an important factor for estimating genetic variation in domestic animals and represents the genetic potential and ability to adapt to the natural environment. In this study, Holstein cattle showed high heterozygosity values for markers FADS1-07 and CSN2-H67P. In contrast, they showed high homozygosity values for markers FADS1-01, FADS2-23, FASN-16024, SCD-T878C, DGAT1-K232A and CSN3-D148A. These results suggest that genetic diversity has been reduced, which may be due to breeding effects.

Milk is one of the basic sources of nutrition. With the increasing incidence of allergies and the spread of knowledge about a healthy lifestyle, consumers are changing their eating habits, which partly leads to the reintroduction of goat's milk into the diet. This study aimed to evaluate and describe the genotypic and allelic structure of Slovak White Shorthaired goats for the CSN1S1 gene. For genotyping, PCR, AS-PCR and PIRA-PCR methods. The He and FIS were used for the description of the diversity of the population. Alleles E and F were the most frequent 0.3710 and 0.2944 respectively followed by B (0.1492) and A (0.1169). The less abundant allele was N with an occurrence of 0.0685. The most abundant genotypes were EF (0.2339), BE (0.1693) AN and EE with an occurrence of 0.1129 both. The White Shorthaired goat breed exhibits high values of heterozygosity (0.7661), polymorphism information content(0.6921), the effective number of alleles (3.7736) and level of possible variability realization (74.1%) for the CSN1S1 gene. The inbreeding level of the population represents a negative value (-0.0355), which indicates enough heterozygotes in the population.

Retinal dysplasia is a genetically heterogeneous ocular disorder in dogs, characterized by abnormal retinal development, resulting in a range of visual impairments from mild to complete blindness. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and genetic basis of retinal dysplasia in the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog breed. An ophthalmic examination was conducted on a cohort of 117 Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs, which revealed a prevalence of multifocal retinal dysplasia of 5.13%. A genome-wide case–control association study was conducted on a subset of 36 adult dogs to explore the underlying genetic architecture of multifocal retinal dysplasia in this breed. The GWAS identified a suggestive association with a locus on canine chromosome CFA37. The strongest association signal for SNP marker BICF2G630130992 (p = 1.29 × 10⁻⁶) was identified in the first intron of the CYP27A1 gene, which encodes a cytochrome P450 enzyme involved in vitamin D metabolism and potentially retinal function. The region of CFA37 contains several other genes that have been previously implicated in ocular development and disease. Further studies utilizing next-generation sequencing and functional analyses are required to validate these findings, identify the causative variants, and fully elucidate the genetic architecture of retinal dysplasia in this breed.